Posts Tagged ‘group’
Consumer Group Releases Report On State Implementation Of Low-Income Reforms
The Medicare Rights Center released a preliminary report on state implementation of reforms to Medicare Savings Programs-Medicaid-administered programs that help pay cost-sharing for low-income people with Medicar-that are required under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008…
Combining a leadership course and multi-source feedback has no effect on leadership skills of leaders in postgraduate medical education. An intervention study with a control group.
Background:
Leadership courses and multi-source feedback are widely used developmental tools for leaders in health care. On this background we aimed to study the additional effect of a leadership course following a multi-source feedback procedure compared to multi-source feedback alone especially regarding development of leadership skills over time.
Methods:
Study participants were consultants responsible for postgraduate medical education at clinical departments. Study design: pre-post measures with an intervention and control group. The intervention was participation in a seven-day leadership course. Scores of multi-source feedback from the consultants responsible for education and respondents (heads of department, consultants and doctors in specialist training) were collected before and one year after the intervention and analysed using Mann-Whitney’s U-test and Multivariate analysis of variances.
Results:
There were no differences in multi-source feedback scores at one year follow up compared to baseline measurements, either in the intervention or in the control group (p = 0.149).
Conclusions:
The study indicates that a leadership course following a MSF procedure compared to MSF alone does not improve leadership skills of consultants responsible for education in clinical departments. Developing leadership skills takes time and the time frame of one year might have been too short to show improvement in leadership skills of consultants responsible for education. Further studies are needed to investigate if other combination of initiatives to develop leadership might have more impact in the clinical setting.
Swine Flu Return May Cause Rise In MRSA, Warns Influential Expert Group
As NHS hospitals face an even tougher winter than usual managing the rise in demand for beds alongside the second wave of swine flu, an influential group of doctors, scientists and patient representatives has called for the early discharge of appropriate MRSA patients to prevent a rise in MRSA infection rates.
Can ill-structured problems reveal beliefs about medical knowledge and knowing? A focus-group approach.
Background:
Epistemological beliefs (EB) are an individual’s cognitions about knowledge and knowing. In several non-medical domains, EB have been found to contribute to the way individuals reason when faced with ill-structured problems (i.e. problems with no clear-cut, right or wrong solutions). Such problems are very common in medical practice. Determining whether EB are also influential in reasoning processes with regard to medical issues to which there is no straightforward answer, could have implications for medical education. This study focused on 2 research questions: 1. Can ill-structured problems be used to elicit general practice trainees’ and trainers’ EB? and 2. What are the views of general practice trainees and trainers about knowledge and how do they justify knowing?
Methods:
2 focus groups of trainees (n = 18) were convened on 3 occasions during their 1st year of postgraduate GP training. 2 groups of GP trainers (n = 11) met on one occasion. Based on the methodology of the Reflective Judgement Interview (RJI), participants were asked to comment on 11 ill-structured problems. The sessions were audio taped and transcribed and an adapted version of the RJI scoring rules was used to assess the trainees’ reasoning about ill-structured problems.
Results:
Participants made a number of statements illustrating their EB and their importance in clinical reasoning. The level of EB varied widely form one meeting to another and depending on the problem addressed. Overall, the EB expressed by trainees did not differ from those of trainers except on a particular ill-structured problem regarding shoulder pain.
Conclusion:
The use of focus groups has entailed some difficulties in the interpretation of the results, but a number of preliminary conclusions can be drawn. Ill-structured medical problems can be used to elicit EB. Most trainees and trainers displayed pre-reflective and quasi-reflective EB. The way trainees and doctors view and justify knowledge are likely to be involved in medical reasoning processes.
Can ill-structured problems reveal beliefs about medical knowledge and knowing?A focus-group approach.
Background:Epistemological beliefs (EB) are an individual’s cognitions about knowledge and knowing. In several non-medical domains, EB have been found to contribute to the way individuals reason when faced with ill-structured problems (i.e. problems with no clear-cut, right or wrong solutions). Such problems are very common in medical practice. Determining whether EB are also influential in reasoning processes with regard to medical issues to which there is no straightforward answer, could have implications for medical education. This study focused on 2 research questions: 1. Can ill-structured problems be used to elicit general practice trainees’ and trainers’ EB? and 2. What are the views of general practice trainees and trainers about knowledge and how do they justify knowing?Methods:2 focus groups of trainees (n=18) were convened on 3 occasions during their 1st year of postgraduate GP training. 2 groups of GP trainers (n=11) met on one occasion. Based on the methodology of the Reflective Judgement Interview (RJI), participants were asked to comment on 11 ill-structured problems. The sessions were audio taped and transcribed and an adapted version of the RJI scoring rules was used to assess the trainees’ reasoning about ill-structured problems.Results:Participants made a number of statements illustrating their EB and their importance in clinical reasoning. The level of EB varied widely form one meeting to another and depending on the problem addressed. Overall, the EB expressed by trainees did not differ from those of trainers except on a particular ill-structured problem regarding shoulder pain.Conclusions:The use of focus groups has entailed some difficulties in the interpretation of the results, but a number of preliminary conclusions can be drawn. Ill-structured medical problems can be used to elicit EB. Most trainees and trainers displayed pre-reflective and quasi-reflective EB. The way trainees and doctors view and justify knowledge are likely to be involved in medical reasoning processes.
BMJ Group Launches On-line Swine Flu Forum For Doctors Across The World
Responding to concerns from doctors in many countries, the BMJ Group has now made available a forum on pandemic flu though http://www.doc2doc.bmj.com – a new international on-line community for doctors. doc2doc provides answers to clinical questions, news about the latest research and forums for doctors to share information easily with each other.
House Vote On Single Payer Will Be Historic First, Doctors’ Group Says
Hailing last week’s pledge by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a floor debate and vote on single-payer health reform this fall, a group of 16,000 physicians is launching an intensified campaign to educate lawmakers about the urgency of a “Medicare-for-All” solution to the nation’s health care crisis.
The health impact of an online heart disease support group: a comparison of moderated versus unmoderated support
The aim of this study was to assess whether our online closed community heart care support group and information resource could sustain changes in health behaviour after the moderators withdrew their support. Heart patients (n = 108) living in a deprived area of Greater Manchester were recruited from general practitioners’ coronary heart disease registries. The sample for this randomized controlled trial was divided in half at random where half of the participants received password-protected access to our health portal and the other half did not. At 6 months follow-up (based on the moderated phase), there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the controls in terms of self-reported diet (eating bad foods less often). This change in behaviour was not sustained during the 3-month unmoderated phase. During this unmoderated phase of the intervention, the experimental group had significantly more health care visits compared with the controls. There was no significant difference between the two phases for either group in terms of exercise, smoking or social support. This study offers insight into the potential implications for health changes of moderating arrangements for online health communities.
Drugstores Group Sues Delaware Over Medicaid Cutbacks
Walgreen Co.’s member organization in Delaware has “filed a suit against the state to put a stop to Medicaid rate cuts” just one week after “Walgreens announced it will stop filling prescriptions of brand-name medications for patients on Medicaid” in Delaware, the News Journal reports. The lawsuit was filed in U.S.
Florida Group Concerned About Potential Salary Cap On Future County Health Department Employees
The Florida Association of Counties is working to undo a proposed state budget provision that would cap the salaries of future employees in county health departments, Health News Florida reports. The counties say the caps would make it impossible to offer competitive salaries that would attract physicians and dentists.



